How Japan Copied American Culture and Made it Better

In Japan, the ability to perfectly imitate—and even improve upon—the cocktails, cuisine and couture of foreign cultures isn’t limited to American products; there are spectacular French chefs and masterful Neapolitan pizzaioli who are actually Japanese. There’s something about the perspective of the Japanese that allows them to home in on the essential elements of foreign cultures and then perfectly recreate them at home. “What we see in Japan, in a wide range of pursuits, is a focus on mastery,” says Sarah Kovner, who teaches Japanese history at the University of Florida. “It’s true in traditional arts, it’s true of young people who dress up in Harajuku, it’s true of restaurateurs all over Japan.”

The Japanese are absolute fanatics when it comes to detailing and doing things to the max. I really admire that quality about them and their culture in general.

That’s why even years ago when Architecture was a mostly European ‘thing’ the Japanese would hold their own against the westerners. In many cases their work far outshines those of the Germans and Swiss (also known for their meticulous attention to details).

I’ve long wondered how to foster this kind of ‘doing well for the sake of it’ attitude in myself. In hectic Singapore everything feels rushed and nobody ever really spends a lot of time sweating the details till they’re perfect.

In my current job I promised myself that whatever I did I would do it to the best of my ability and not compromise just for the sake of a deadline. So far things are going ok but I that I can keep this up.